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MST3K 501 - Warrior of the Lost World
The Movie Synopsis In a post-apocalyptic future, the Earth is ruled by a despotic organization known as "The Omega", headed by Prossor (Donald Pleasence). The Omega is an Orwellian outfit that plays hypnotic mind-control messages over the PA system at airports. The Omega is resisted by a faction known as "The Outsiders." Led by Professor McWayne (Harrison Muller), it is advised by a levitating, foggy, flashlight-wielding cadre of superannuated, toga-clad mystical healers. McWayne has been captured by the Omega; the Outsiders must rescue him before he is executed. When a sullen, leather-jacketed anti-hero (Robert Ginty) and his talking, rocket-assisted, missile-launching "supersonic speed cycle" called Einstein appear, the mystics identify him as "Chosen", and McWayne's daughter, the not-unattractive Nastasia (Persis Khambatta) and commanding Henchman (Fred Williamson) must persuade him to help them rescue their leader. After arguments as to the nobility of their cause fail to sway him, Nastasia smilingly threatens the Warrior. He agrees to cooperate. Nastasia and Warrior infiltrate the public execution of McWayne in the guise of invited witnesses. The two of them manage to grab McWayne and get him to a waiting escape helicopter. During the escape, Nastasia is shot and left behind. She is captured by Prosser, who immediately begins programming her to be his "mind slave". McWayne starts to assemble a rescue mission. To garner forces from the outlaw gangs in the area, he has the Warrior engage in a public display of rite of combat. The Warrior wins and inspires their alllegiance. A three-pronged attack on The Omega is begun. The Warrior leads the motorized forces down the Omega-patrolled highway with air support supplied by Henchman to ultimately do battle with "Megaweapon", a large truck adorned with an "Omega" logo, some bumper-mounted spikes and a flame-thrower. Elsewhere, gang members posing as Omega employees cleverly smuggle automatic weapons into the Omega "dairy" and attack from inside, while outlaw gang ninjas and people with old military uniforms scale the unguarded back stairs into the Omega HQ. Will Nastasia be snatched from doom before she is forever warped by the sadistic Prossor? Are Prossor and Henchman really what they seem to be? * Can't we get beyond "Thunderdome"? Information *Director David Worth claims he was hired, sent to Italy, and told to begin work on the film before he had a script. He was simply shown a ballyhoo poster and told to make a film that would go with it. *The film's framerate is slower than the standard 24 fps and varies slightly from scene to scene. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Servo gets to do the formal welcome speech on behalf of the Satellite of Love crew, but Crow is bound and determined to ruin it. Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads have created the Square Master, a special exercise mat which maximizes potential; Joel and the Bots have Bittersweet Hearts, candy hearts (which also function as easy-to-chew antacids) for adults. They feature phrases that can be difficult to communicate, like "Get Out", "You’ll Do", "Like A Brother" and "It’s Blue". Segment Two: Joel turns Crow and Servo into a giant slot car set. Crow rules the road, but Servo has some major design flaws. Segment Three: In a Steve Allen-inspired sketch, we see what the apocalypse would be like if the Warrior of the Lost World hadn't got his driving permit yet and was forced to save the world in the back of his mom's Vista Cruiser station wagon. Segment Four: Joel and the Bots discuss what outrageous things they'd do after the apocalypse. Segment Five: The Bots lament the loss of Megaweapon, but a phone call from their hero puts them at ease. Joel reads a letter from a couple of kids whose dad "claims to have paid ‘good’ money to have seen many of the movies you ‘rip’ on." The letter's author also enclosed a picture of a MST3K themed cake made by Hy-Vee (a mid-western grocery store chain) for her brother's 11th birthday. The Mads enjoy an active lifestyle thanks to the Square Master. 'Stinger: '''The Paper Chase Guy checks out Persis Khambatta. Guest Stars *''Megaweapon (voice): Michael J. Nelson Trivia *Despite Warrior of the Lost World being produced as the first episode of the season, Hercules was actually shown first. * This episode aired fourth during Turkey Day '17, and second during Turkey Day '18. Callbacks * "Ator? Tong?" (Cave Dwellers) * "Old Time bus driver Billy Slater." (Junior Rodeo Daredevils) * "He hit Little Jake." (The Side Hackers) Running Gags * Actor Robert Ginty is frequently referred to as "the Paper Chase guy". Ginty had co-starred in the TV adaptation of the film The Paper Chase (which is about law students) that aired on CBS during the 1978-79 season. He had not been in the film. The series was cancelled after one season, but was popular when it was re-run on PBS. The series was revived by the cable channel Showtime in 1983 and ran for an additional 3 seasons, but Ginty was not part of the cast. Obscure References *''"Yarbles and Yarlblockers!"'' Quoted by the Geeks in the first 20 minutes of the movie; a throwback to Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Anthony Burgess' iconic dystopian novel [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_%28film%29 A Clockwork Orange.] *''"Hey! Hangar 18!"'' VERY old callback to the KTMA "Season Zero" days of Mystery Science Theater; to which one of the movies Joel and the bots riffed was Hangar 18. *''"Music by Hawkwind!"'' Hawkwind is a British progressive rock band. Crow then proceeds to name several other prog-rock/new wave/synth pop bands from the time period. *''"Warrior of the Lost World (much better than the) Finder of the Lost Loves..." Sung to the tune of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by progressive rock band Yes. The reference to ''Finder of Lost Loves is a callback to Space Travelers, where Crow constantly confused James Franciscus for Tony Franciosa. *''"Tova Borgnine! NO!"'' Tova Borgnine was the wife of Ernest Borgnine (who later appeared in Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders); as well as a regular on the QVC shopping network selling her own line of cosmetics. *''"Tom Cruise! Days of Thunder!"'' Days of Thunder was a 1990 movie in which Cruise starred as a NASCAR driver. *''"The High Plains Loser!"'' High Plains Drifter is a 1973 Western film starring Clint Eastwood. *''"Hey, where you goin'?" "Nowhere in particular." "Man, I wish I was you."'' A snippet of dialogue from Then Came Bronson, a very short-lived TV series from 1969-1970. *''"It's on this straightaway that Fittipalldi should be able to gain some ground on the leaders."'' Crow is imitating Jackie Stewart, famous for calling auto races on TV. *''"Watch out for the squibs!"'' A squib is a type of explosive charge used to simulate gunshots in movies. *''"Mr. Busey, look out-"'' Actor Gary Busey suffered severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident in the late 1980s. *''"And now, Edie Sedgwick goes on the road!"'' Edie Sedgwick, who appeared in several films directed by Andy Warhol, was severely burned in 1966 after falling asleep with a lit cigarette. *''"Oh, no- cops!"'' Joel is imitating the Simpsons character Snake. *''"Retsyn?"'' Retsyn was a sparkling ingredient mentioned in advertisements for Certs during the 1990s. *''"Stiv Bators?!"'' Stiv Bators was the lead singer of the punk band The Dead Boys. *''"Richard Hell?!"'' Richard Hell was also a punk pioneer. *''"Coma, coma, coma, coma, coma Caligula!"'' A parody of the Culture Club song "Karma Chameleon". *''"It's Bicycle Repairman!"'' "Bicycle Repairman" was a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus about a town full of Supermen where the local superhero was a bicycle repairman. * "He's got Laurie Anderson in there!" Laurie Anderson is a soft-spoken musician and performance artist. *''"...and the new movie by Louis Malle."'' Louis Malle was a French film director. *''"Sure, we all do!"'' A quote from International Correspondence Schools commercials featuring Sally Struthers, which was preceded by the line "Do you want to make more money?". *''"Was the prop man Jim Stafford?"'' "I really don't like spiders and snakes!" Country singer/actor Jim Stafford (who also appeared in Riding with Death) recorded the novelty song "Spiders and Snakes" in the mid-1970s. *''"We're a rocker arm assembly, and we don't like dirt!"'' Taken from the lyrics to the Mobil gas "Rocker Arm Assembly" song. *''"It's no party." "It's no disco."'' A play on the Talking Heads song "Life During Wartime". *''"I'm the guy with the snake on my face!"'' Quoted from Harry, The Guy With A Snake On My Face - an adult novelties store owner played by John Candy on SCTV. *''"This is like a really weird production of The Bacchae."'' The Bacchae is a Greek tragedy about the god Dionysus. *''"Now they're in Cabrini Green!"'' Cabrini Green was a (now-demolished) Chicago public housing project infamous for crime, poverty and gang violence. *''"Video killed the Radio Star!"'' The armed guards with the shades slightly resemble the band members of The Buggles, who were known for their Hit Song Servo mentioned. *''"It's the Forbin Project!"'' A reference to the 1970 sci-fi movie Colossus: The Forbin Project. *''"This is starting to look more and more like an Obsession ad."'' A reference to commercials for Calvin Klein's fragrance Obsession, which were frequently mocked for their art film-like pretentiousness. *''"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life."'' From the spoken-word intro to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy". *''"Jimmy Carter: Missing in Action!"'' Missing in Action was a 1984 action movie starring Chuck Norris. *''"Jimmy Carter IS The Enforcer!"'' The Enforcer, released in 1976, was the third film in the Dirty Harry series, starring Clint Eastwood. *''"Yeah feel some malaise, sucka!"'' A reference to Jimmy Carter's infamous "malaise speech," made on July 15, 1979 (although he never actually used that term during the speech). *''"Here are TWO unsuccessful insurance salesmen."'' A reference to a skit from Monty Python's Flying Circus in which two unsuccessful encyclopedia salesmen are thrown from a tall building. *''"Jerry Mahoney! Knucklehead Smiff! Oh the ventriloquy!"'' In reference to the two dummies falling from the tower: Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff were two famous dummies used by ventriloquist Paul Winchell in the 50s and 60s. "Oh the ventriloquy!" is most likely a riff on the famous "Oh the humanity!" line uttered by radio journalist Herbert Morrison during his eyewitness broadcast of the crash of the Hindenburg zeppelin in 1937. * "Kill da wabbit..." A line sung by Elmer Fudd to the tune of Richard Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' in the 1957 cartoon What's Opera, Doc?. Its use in the helicopter chase scene is a nod to Apocalypse Now in which a fleet of helicopters plays "Ride of the Valkyries" on loudspeaker while attacking. *''"You should have done that to stagflation !"'' A term formed from a combination of the words "stagnation" and "inflation", often used to describe the US's economic situation during the Carter administration. *''"Looks kinda like Any Which Way But Loose." "Or Any Which Way You Can."'' A reference to Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel Any Which Way You Can, two comedy films starring Clint Eastwood. At the end of Every Which Way But Loose, Eastwood fights another man in a sequence shot with similarly jerky hand-held camera cinematography. Warrior of the Lost World director David Worth was also the Director of Photography for Any Which Way You Can. *''"It's Ike and Tina!"'' Ike and Tina Turner were an R&B duo in the 60s and 70s. They were married and were known for vicious domestic violence incidents. The woman in the fight scene has wild hair resembling Tina's. *''"Don't you have to get to the Under the Rainbow set?"'' Under the Rainbow was a 1981 movie that involved the Munchkin auditions for The Wizard of Oz. *''"He's beating up Julian Bond!"'' Julian Bond was a veteran civil-rights activist who served as chairman of the NAACP from 1998 to 2010. *''"Cleopatra Jones!"'' Cleopatra Jones was a 1973 blaxploitation movie. *''"Got some Divine on me!"'' A comment on an extra's resemblance to the late female impersonator Divine. *''"Here at DeVry Institute..."'' DeVry University, formerly known as the DeVry Institute, is a nationwide chain of adult-education centers. *''"Oh sick, he's turning her into Charlie Callas!"'' Charlie Callas was a popular comedian during the 1970s, and was known for nervously chattering and making odd noises as part of his act. *''"What are we fighting for?" "Don't tell me, I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam"'' Lines from the song "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" by Country Joe and the Fish. *''"That guy's buying lunch at the Automat."'' The Automat was a type of self-service restaurant that was popular during the first half of the 20th century. *''"Benazir Bhutto!"'' Benazir Bhutto was the first female prime minister of Pakistan. *''"My friends call me Tania!"'' "Tania" was the name Patty Hearst was given by the Symbionese Liberation Army. *"Shot your father, I did." Callback to Mr. B Natural. *''"Sprockets!"'' "Sprockets" was a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch in which Mike Myers played an eccentric German talk show host. *''"Have you ever worked with Killdozer?"'' Killdozer is a short story by Theodore Sturgeon about a bulldozer that develops a violent mind of its own. In 1974, it was adapted as a made-for-TV movie. *''"Oh, man, he's just been shot by the Split Enz!"'' Split Enz were a pop/new-wave band from New Zealand, perhaps best known in the USA for their song/video "I Got You". The band wore colorful goofy outfits, and "artsy" hair and makeup. Lead singer Tim Finn is also mentioned in passing in The She-Creature. *''"That Girl forever. Marlo! Marlo! Oh Donald!"'' That Girl was a 1960s sitcom starring Marlo Thomas. She frequently called out "Oh Donald!", the name of her boyfriend. The Omega logo resembles the shape of Marlo's flip hairstyle. *Crow briefly references the title I Accuse My Parents despite it not having yet aired at the time. *''"Any fruit to declare?" "ANY FRUIT TO DECLARE?!"'' At the time the episode aired, California was in the middle of another medfly crisis, leading to forceful quarantines of fruit out of infected areas. *''...and the Bad Fathers who love them! Next'' Donahue''!" ''Donahue was a popular talk show that ran from 1970-1996, hosted by Phil Donahue. Video releases *Commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in December 2009 as part of Volume XVI, a 4-disc set along with The Corpse Vanishes, Santa Claus, and Night of the Blood Beast. **The DVD includes an interview with David Worth. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 5 Category:Dystopian Film Category:1980s movies Category:R-rated movies Category:Directed by Trace Beaulieu Category:Season Premieres Category:Post-apocalyptic films